iHear The Bells
by like-lions
Summary: Sam and Freddie are engaged. What happens when she goes missing? Clearly Seddie. Angsty, but it'll all work out. Based on a Criminal Minds episode. Rated T for some graphic descriptions. Nothing M, I promise. :
1. Chapter 1: No Leads

A/N: So, I suck at updating stories. I lose muse easily, and I always get new ideas. Bad combo? I think so. Plus, I got severe writer's block for my other stories, and this story I have planned out more, so the writer's block won't be an issue. (: This is based off of an episode of Criminal Minds, but if you have never seen it, this story will be pretty awesome. Even if you have, you'll probably still enjoy it. 3

**Chapter One: No Leads**

If you asked Samantha Puckett six years earlier where she would be within the next ten years, she'd probably say in a deli, mooching off some ham and pork chops. If you told her she'd be at her own engagement party, she would deny it. And if you told her she would be getting engaged to Fredward Benson, she would probably laugh in your face. But when she looked in the mirror on the afternoon of September 5th, 2015, she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be. She adjusted her mid-length blonde curls, and checked the mascara coating her top lashes. Everything had to be perfect for her engagement party that night. Freddie walked past her, smiling brightly at her and adjusting his shirt. He wasn't sure exactly how to dress to a party announcing their engagement, so he just went with semi-casual and hoped for the best. Sam dressed in a bright red dress, which landed just above the knee. The color of her dress matched perfectly with the tie Freddie was wearing, and her jewelry just had to match as well. Finally, they went off in their car to the party being held at a five star hotel in downtown Seattle.

The party went off to a great start, with the guests arriving at five, and the food and drinks being handed out promptly at six. The proposal had been announced by the banner hanging proudly above the front entrance, and the happy couple had spent the past hour accepting best wishes and congratulations from everyone. Sam was startled when she felt cold fingers tap her shoulder, but smiled when she saw that it was just Carly.

"Hey, stranger!" Carly said, her dark brown locks falling to her mid-back. She hadn't changed much in appearance or personality, which both Sam and Freddie were grateful for—to have one normal thing going on in their lives.

Ever since they had gotten together, things kept getting stranger. Things kept changing. Spencer got married to Sasha Striker, leaving Carly in the loft alone, which she didn't mind much, as she was already in college. Gibby got into Princeton—after applying three times. Mrs. Benson finally remarried to a local orthodontist named Ronnie. Lewbert even got his trademark wart removed! The only other two things that stayed the same were Griffin still collecting PeeWee babies, and Valerie still being a crazy psycho.

"Thanks for coming," Sam said, happily. She'd been un-naturally friendly since Freddie had officially asked her to be his girlfriend. Well, not to him, but to others around her, sure. "It must have been hard to convince Marie the Monster to let you take time off."

Carly had begun working at a fashion magazine, Strut, the year before, which was run by the one and only Marie McCabe, also known to Carly and Sam as Marie the Monster.

"Yeah, but I convinced her that the newest trend of plastic belt buckles wasn't nearly as important as seeing my two best friends for the first time in six months," Carly said. "I still can't believe that you're going to officially become Mrs. Fredward Benson in June."

"I still think she's in shock herself," Freddie said, coming back to the table with three drinks. "She a punched me when I proposed."

"Well, it'll be a great story to tell when we get older, now won't it?" Carly said, taking a sip of one of the blue colored drinks.

"And I'm sure your bruise will heal by then," Sam said, laughing.

Gibby walked over with his own fiancé, Lucy, a quirky redhead with a laugh that could shatter glass. Gibby was especially fond of her, and while she was a good-looking girl, the looks weren't worth "having to get a hearing aid before your forty" according to the gang.

"Congrats, guys!" Gibby said, Lucy giggling in the background. "Now you can join the club. The married club, you know? Ha, I made a joke."

Lucy laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Carly, Sam, and Freddie all cracked uncomfortable smiles.

Moving onto a different topic other than his aching ears, Freddie said, "It's a shame Spencer can't be here."

"Yeah, they had their baby last week, so he's probably still in shock," Carly said. "Oh, look it's Griffin!"

He walked over with a kick in his step, and something stuffed beneath his sweater.

"I had to get something special for the almost married couple!" he said, handing both Freddie and Sam matching PeeWee babies. "They're wearing matching outfits with rings on the back. I got them custom made. Now you can keep these in your living room, or something."

"Or something," Sam said, a nervous tone in her voice. Freddie smirked over at her.

He looked back at Griffin, saying, "Thanks, for the...Um, gift, Griffin. We'll be sure to put them up first thing when we get home."

"Yeah right," Sam coughed under her breath, Carly elbowing her in the side.

Suddenly, the deejay called over to the group.

"Whoever owns the 2009 blue Hyundai Senata, your alarm is going off," he said, trying to keep himself in full "deejay" mode.

"Oh, crap, that's our car," Freddie said, fumbling for the keys. "I'll get it now."

"Actually, you can stay here and talk to Griffin all about your favorite PeeWee babies. I'll go get the car," Sam said, taking the keys.

"You sure? It's sort of dark out there," Freddie said, pulling her back.

"Come on, Freddork, I haven't been scared of the dark since I was like, seven," Sam said, lying. She had not been scared of the dark since she was about twice that.

Sam pushed open the large double doors and walked out into the parking lot. It was dark, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Freddie was making it out to be. It was filled with large floodlights anyway.

She walked around the large, empty, parking lot, looking for the car. Once she found it, the alarm wouldn't stop with the push of the button on the key, so she decided to get in it and stop it manually.

Fumbling with the keys, she tried to open the door, when she suddenly felt someone come up behind her and hold a small cloth to her mouth. Everything suddenly went blurry, and she began to lose control of her legs. She tried to fight back, but he cut her arm with the key, breaking the heel of her shoe in the process. He pulled her into the backseat of the car, put the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot as fast as he could.

It had been over ten minutes. Freddie knew it didn't take that long to turn off the alarm. He told his friends he'd be right back, and walked into the parking lot. He looked for the car. He knew exactly what area he put the car in. E-A. But it was nowhere to be found. He looked at the ground where someone had left a mess. It was a sticky, red liquid, which he soon discovered to be blood. Not much, but enough to freak him out. Near the blood was the heel of Sam's shoe, and tire tracks that showed someone leaving fast enough to burn rubber.

He called nine-one-one, instinctively. When the police first arrived, they shook off the incident like it was just another runaway bride case. But when he pointed out the blood and broken heel, they decided to look into it.

Freddie couldn't sleep that night. He kept getting text messages from friends, and it was all too much for him.

**Carly: **She'll be ok. She probably just hurt herself and went 2 the hospital. Or something. D:

**Gibby: **Lucy and I just want U 2 know that ur in our prayers. 3

**Griffin:** I made you another custom beanie baby. It's not about grieving, don't worry. It's a get well soon bear. Cause Sam will come back. (:

The next morning, Freddie turned onto his side and flipped on the television, trying to drown his sorrows in something other than alcohol. He turned on the channel nine news, only to see a picture of Sam in the right hand corner. He turned up the television and tried his best to choke back tears.

"Samantha Puckett, a local medical student, has been missing since late last night, when she was taken from her own engagement party to local law student, Fredward Benson," the woman on the TV said. "They aren't giving much information on the topic, but they will say that they have no leads yet in the case."

_**A/N: We will see her again, guys! Seriously, like in the next chapter. It's just Freddie and the Gang who will have to wait a while to see her again. This story will probably only be four chapters, so review, review, review for the next chapter. Also, give me some ideas for the names of the detectives working the case. I need three. I would use the CM characters, but I don't want to make a crossover. D:**_

_**-- Kaylah :D**_


	2. Chapter 2: No More Questions

_**A/N: Thanks for all of the awesome reviews! I just realized that this is based off of an episode of Cold Case, not Criminal Minds. Sorry, brainfart. But I hope you'll still enjoy the story! Here you go, next chapter! (:**_

**Chapter Two: No More Questions**

It had been three months, four days, eleven hours and fourteen minutes. Three months since Freddie proposed to Sam. Three months, four days, seven hours since they had first announced their engagement to their friends. And three months, four days, eleven hours since Sam had officially gone missing.

The police were almost no help. They said that they still had no real leads in the case. That it would be a waste of time looking for "a girl who was probably dead" when they could be looking for real missing people. Freddie couldn't handle that kind of answer.

Even his own friends had given up all hope of Sam ever coming home. Carly went back to New York, and called Freddie once a week to check on how he was doing. Check on him also meant make sure he didn't off himself out of anger and depression.

Gibby and Lucy stopped laughing around him. He actually just stopped bringing her around all together. Which was a relief to his ears, but the real reason why he was doing that unsettled him. He knew that Gibby probably thought that seeing her reminded him of Sam. Which it did, but that made him happy. He didn't want to forget about her. How could he? She haunted his dreams.

And Griffin, well Griffin didn't even beat around the bush about it. He sent Freddie a "sorry for your loss" PeeWee baby and almost stopped talking to him. He even told him the reason.

"I can't stand listening to you babble on about her, dude," he said. "It's depressing. You need to move on."

But he couldn't. Not when he knew she was out there somewhere.

Freddie took it upon himself to hire detectives to work the case. Detectives Lupe, Barnes and Sullivan were all assigned to look into the case. He was draining his entire savings on it, but he couldn't sleep without knowing he was doing something about it. Doing something to find her.

When Detective Sullivan called him, he was lying on the couch, watching old videos of them together. Old iCarly clips were fun to watch, seeing how much she teased him and how behind the angry or frustrated looks he gave her was happiness that she was acknowledging him. The home videos of the different birthdays they'd celebrated together, from ninth grade up until this past June were sweet, seeing them smiling together for the first time in a month gave him hope that they might get moments like that again sometime soon.

The hardest part about watching the videos was coming across a small package in the mail. Inside was the finished copy of the video in which everyone was wishing them good luck and saying how they couldn't wait until the big day. The video even caught the moment where Freddie grabbed her arm and told her it was dark outside, and that he should go instead.

He had been beating himself up for the past three months, wondering why he didn't just insist on going out there himself. Wondering what he was doing or what he was talking about when Sam was being forcefully taken from the parking lot.

Thinking about things like this made his heart sink to what felt like the bottom of his stomach, and his mind began to wander when he heard the familiar ringing of his cell phone.

"Hello?" Freddie said, delirious. "Sullivan? It's four in the morning."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," he said, making Freddie smile. He sounded a lot like Sam with the cynical tone in his voice. "But it's important. We think we found something. At the scene, there was a cloth on the ground that the cops were supposed to check out, but lost track of. Well, we found it, and we had it run for prints, substances—the like."

Freddie sat up and wiped the drool from the side of his face.

"So you found something? You mean, we have a lead?" Freddie said, frantically getting up and walking to the door.

"Well, yeah," he said, looking through files on his desk. "It was a dish cloth, and it had traces of chloroform on it, which is used to subdue people, rendering them helpless."

Freddie choked back tears of happiness and sadness. He was happy that they finally had a hint of hope, but he was sad that Sam had to feel that way. She hated when he poured her cereal for her. He could only imagine how frustrating it must of been for her to be truly helpless.

"And best of all we found a few partial prints," he said, "They matched the prints of a potential serial killer in the area. Psycho's like him should be locked up for life. He admitted to kidnapping three women, but we didn't have enough to hold him for long. Only in an asylum for a few years. His name was...Tobias Reese. And, lucky for us, he's stuck around town."

"So, are you going to arrest him?" Freddie said, frantic.

"Slow down, cowboy," he said, "That's what I'm getting at. He's in the custody of the Seattle Police Department now."

"Holy shit, holy shit. Okay, I'll be there in, like, ten minutes."

"Drive safely and don't crash on your way," Sullivan said. "You still haven't paid me in full."

The police didn't want Freddie to be in the room while they interrogated Reese. It wasn't protocol, even for a "cold" case like this one. The fact that the police even called this case cold frustrated Freddie. Sure it had been three months, but they could at least still try to find her. Keep putting out signs. Something. Anything.

When Freddie entered the room where the other policemen had a clear view of what was going on in the interrogation room, he was stunned at what he saw sitting in the chair.

He was expecting a strong, scary looking man. Someone who could be capable of taking Sam down without a weapon. But sitting in that metal chair was a weak looking, frail man in his thirties, picking at his dirty fingernails and scratching what was left of hair on his head clean off. He looked like he could break in two at any given moment.

"Are you sure this is the right guy? He doesn't exactly look like the serial killer type," Freddie said, unsure of what to think.

"Fingerprints don't lie," Barnes said, taking the place of Sullivan who went to get them coffee. "I know—he looks like a crackhead. But most serial killers without much meat on their bones or strength to hold someone down use the chemical method to knock out their victims."

Barnes signaled for Freddie to stop talking, and Freddie turned around to see Lupe entering the room. He was a scary looking kind of guy. Tall, muscles visible through his dress shirt, and a mean smile on his face at all times. Just the type of guy Freddie would want to find answers from this guy.

"So, Tobias. How have you been? It's been quite a while since I last saw you here," Lupe said, starting off the conversation.

Freddie nudged Barnes, who whispered in his ear, "Lupe was the one to put him in the asylum in the first place. They got history, and it's not exactly the nice kind."

"Oh, just fine, fruit loops," Tobias said, a smirk covering his lips, directed right at Lupe, who was glaring at him. "I thought I'd never see my beloved again."

Lupe walked around the chair he was sitting in and put his hands on the back of it.

"So, you say you don't want a lawyer, huh? Think you're too good for the justice system?" he said.

"Nah," Tobias said, leaning back and looking up at him. "Just don't see the need for one. Now, what am I here for again?"

"Samantha Puckett," Lupe said, Freddie tensing up at hearing her name, "You know her?"

"I don't know names," Tobias said, eagerly, "Describe her to me. Don't be scared to go into detail. I think we _all_ can handle it."

Lupe angrily threw down a picture of Sam. The same picture they showed on the news the day after she went missing.

"Oh, blondie?" he said, smiling down at the picture. "Yeah, I know her. She was an absolute doll, feisty and jumpy as a cat dipped in water."

"So, you kidnapped her? You're admitting to it?" Lupe said, confused at how quickly the confession was coming.

"Oh, yeah," he said, still smiling, and looking up directly at Freddie. Despite the fact that he wasn't supposed to be able to see him, Freddie felt like he was looking right into his soul.

"Why do you do it, Tobias?" Lupe said, leaning down to his level. "Does it get you off to hear the screams of helpless women, begging for you to let them go?"

"Oh please. It's anything but sexual," he said, a look of disgust covering his face. "You want to hear a story, buddy?"

"I don't have time for stories," Lupe said, standing up and straightening out his back. "Cut to the chase, Reese."

"When I was a little boy, I lived near a church. And I met a girl in the woods nearby. She was gorgeous, blonde, big blue eyes, and she was trapped in a well. It was raining and the water was rising, and she called out to me for help when she saw me peek over the edge. And you know what I did?"

"What, what did you do?" Lupe said, eager to hear.

"I threw a rock down. And I saw her face Blanche—I literally saw her lose all hope for life. That's what I like to see. Them giving up. And I'm sure Blondie here will soon, just like the others. I'll always remember the last thing she said to me, when I left her a couple of days ago. _Oh, what will you give me? Say the sad bells of Rhymney..._Odd. And I thought she'd be the strongest one, but she is the one who's giving up the fastest."

Freddie and all the others in the room across from them were visibly shaken by the story. Freddie felt his stomach turn and knots beginning to form.

"And by, 'the others' you mean Jasmine Mitchell, Elizabeth Worthington and Vanessa Lexington."

"Well then, loops! You're a clever boy aren't you?" he said, picking up the picture of Sam. "It's just such a shame that she's going to have to die alone now. She was one of my favorites, too."

Part of Freddie was relieved to know that Sam was still alive. But the other part—his heart—sank at the idea of her dying alone.

"What do you mean?" Lupe said, pulling the picture out of Tobias's dirty fingers, which we staining the finish on the portrait.

"Well, you don't honestly think I'm going to tell you where she is, do you?" he said, laughing. "I never told the police where Jas, Lizz and Nessa were either, now did I? And I was in that hellhole, for what, four years? Maybe five?"

Lupe's fists clamped shut. He knew that they never found any of the women's remains. They couldn't have lived for four years held hostage with no one feeding them.

"What will it take for you to tell us where she is?" Lupe said, trying to make a deal. He typically didn't make deals with serial killers, but he had to make an excuse. Especially when Freddie was watching him, more tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, loops. My dear friend. You still don't get it," Tobias said, grinning widely. "I just gave you everything you need. No more questions."

_**A/N: Actually, this story will be three chapters. It's going by so quickly. (: Sorry if it seems rushed, I'm just overly excited. Review for the next chapter!**_

**-- Kaylah :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Never Gave Up

_**A/N: Last chapter. –tear- This story was fun to write. Actually, I wrote all of the chapters together on Sunday night/Monday morning. I was just posting them separate to give you some ~suspense. This chapter is short. This story is short, actually. I just wanted to make sure I finished a story as a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa gift to you! (: Enjoy!**_

**Chapter Three: Never Gave Up**

Freddie couldn't take it anymore. It might have been the lack of sleep, the way that he described in detail that horrible story of the blonde woman (who sounded a lot like Sam) dying, or just the fact that he couldn't believe someone was going to render Sam helpless and lonely, but he just couldn't.

Lupe pushed Tobias against the metal table, locking his hands together behind his back, while he just grinned, gracefully, as if he wished to be nowhere else. He led him out of the interrogation room, and Freddie turned from his right to his left, frantically, silently begging for answers.

Sullivan, who had arrived with three cups of steaming hot coffee just minutes earlier had a perplexed look on his face. He was thinking hard, but it was frustrating for Freddie to not get answers from anyone.

"You said you'd find her," Freddie said, grabbing hold of Sullivan, who thankfully had set the drinks down on the table beside them. "You said she'd come back home. Give me some answers! Talk to me!"

"Look, Fred, buddy," Barnes said, pulling him off of Sullivan who still wasn't fully there. "We'll look into it. We'll work harder. It's just gonna take a little while longer, that's all."

"She doesn't have much longer! He had he'd left her two days ago. How long can she hold on for? And why aren't you saying anything!? You called me here at four in the morning, telling me that you'd found something. You can't just ignore me now!"

"I'm not ignoring you," Sullivan finally said, wiping the dust Freddie had scattered over him off of his black shirt. "I think he just gave us everything we need."

"What are you talking about? He didn't tell us anything!" Freddie said, his voice getting lower, as he began to slowly calm down.

"That song...The song he sang, it's a church song..." Sullivan said, typing words quickly into his phone. "It's played in Catholic churches."

"I've never heard that song before in my life. What is he talking about?" he said to Barnes, who was making that same thinking face that Sullivan was making earlier.

"Well, you don't live in the country," Sullivan said, turning his cell phone towards Barnes and Freddie. "It's played down at the old abandoned church a few miles from here. It used to be highly populated until..."

"Until what?" Barnes said, butting in.

"Allison McGee drowned in the well in the area. Her father was the local priest, who went crazy telling everyone the town was haunted. Everyone just up and left."

"The story...So it was true?" Freddie said, his mind racing.

"Yeah," Sullivan said. "Poor thing. But the good news is that the old church is still a hotspot for homeless people. They have a cellar and everything. No one would hear someone down there if he decided to hide her."

"Tobias didn't have a place of residence," Barnes said, running his hands through his blonde hair, specked with grey. "It just said Seattle, WA."

"She's in the old church..." Sullivan said, grabbing Freddie's arm. "C'mon. We're gonna go down there. Barnes, tell Lupe and get the authorities down there ASAP. And tell them to bring the emergency vehicles."

Sullivan dragged Freddie out into the parking lot and slammed the door shut, driving off. Freddie was still in shock at how the pieces were falling into place.

_**You have my heart**_

_**And we'll never be worlds apart**_

When they arrived at the large church, the first thing Freddie noticed was how it was falling into itself. It was crooked and strange looking, but he was willing to go in if it meant seeing Sam again. Christmas was coming up quickly, and he didn't want to have to spend his first Christmas in three years alone.

_**Baby in magazines,**_

_**Oh you'll still be my star**_

"Stay here," Sullivan said, when they heard the sirens of the police cars and ambulances driving into the unbeaten path.

Freddie watched in awe as the large group of people rammed in the front door. The group went down to the lowest floor in the building, where they found a small room. It was probably used as a saferoom before the church went to hell. It was bricked up, but the one dog they had brought insisted on them opening the room.

_**Cause in the dark**_

_**You will see shiny cars**_

They took the various tools and broke through the brick, piece by piece. They finally found the doorknob, and they pushed it open, the knob almost breaking clean off. Inside they saw nothing but a small bundle piled up into a corner. She was covered in grey, her blonde hair almost black from the soot surrounding her. Her body looked frail, and her face was pointed against the wall.

Sullivan walked over to her and pulled her towards him, unveiling the marks on the wall. Tally marks, marking the days that she'd been gone. She also had carved a small heart with an "F" into the wall beside them. Her fingernails were caked with concrete, her skin covered in dirt, and her hair a complete mess, but when she looked up at him with her big blue eyes, all he could see was beauty.

He lifted her up shouted to the paramedics, "We found her!"

_**And that's when you'll need me there**_

Freddie knew that something was up when he saw all of the paramedics rushing into the church. His stomach did flips, and he was beginning to think his organs wanted to be in the circus. He opened the car door and ran out, only to be greeted by Sullivan, who was holding Sam in his arms.

_**Baby I'll always share,**_

_**Because when the sun shines we'll shine together**_

When she looked up at him, she fussed with Sullivan to put her down, and tried to catch her footing, as she ran towards Freddie who just turned around.

_**Told you I'd be here forever,**_

_**Said I'll always be your friend**_

She looked like a mess on the outside, but Freddie didn't mind much at all. He twisted her around in a circle once he got to her, and she started bursting into tears.

_**Took an oath,**_

_**I'mma stick it out till the end**_

Sullivan, Barnes and Lupe knew that she needed to be checked over for injuries, but they didn't want to interrupt the reunion of the guy who was "obsessed" with finding the truth, and the girl who never gave up.

_**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! And merry, merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and just plain happy holidays to everyone! (:**_


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